In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, integrated circuit devices are formed on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer) by a wafer fabrication process, after which a probe test for inspecting electrical characteristics of each integrated circuit device is carried out by a probe device. From the test, it is determined whether or not each IC device formed on the wafer is defective. Afterwards, the wafer is divided into chips, among which non-defective chips are packaged. Hereinafter, the integrated circuit device formed on the wafer is referred to as an IC chip or a chip.
Such probe device includes therein a probe card 3. As shown in FIG. 24, the probe card 3 has a number of probes (e.g., probe needles) 32 and a plurality of contact points 30 electrically connected to the respective probe needles. Each probe needle 32 comes in contact with each electrode pad of the chip 40. A tester (not shown) sends inspection signals to the chips 40 via the probe needles 32 to inspect the electrical characteristics of each chip 40.
Meanwhile, a multi-probe card is used to inspect the electrical characteristics of a plurality of chips at a time. A number of probes of the multi-probe card come in contact with the electrode pads of the plurality of chips simultaneously. A group of probes which are brought into contact with a plurality of electrode pads of a single chip is referred to as a channel. A plurality of channels are provided to a multi-probe card.
For example, FIG. 25 illustrates three channels 14′, each of which is enclosed by a dotted line. Circles in each channel 14′ represent the probe needles 32. A multiplicity of probe needles 32 makes up the three channels (CH1, CH2 and CH3), as depicted in FIG. 25. Such multi-probe card can be in a contact with three chips at a time. By using such multi-probe card, the frequency of bring the wafer W and the probe card into contact can be reduced, which in turn reduces the inspection time.
Recently, a technique which employs bumps in place of the probe needles has been developed. By using bumps, a layout of the channels (i.e., arrangement pattern of a plurality of channels in the probe card) can be designed with greater degree of freedom. In case of using the probe needles, the channels are usually arranged in a linear fashion. However, when employing the bumps, various layouts of the channels can be adopted, e.g., a pattern with plural lines, an overall rectangular pattern formed by arranging the channels vertically and horizontally and a special pattern, e.g., having a step shaped side.
FIG. 24 schematically illustrates the layout of the chips 40 arranged on the wafer W. In practice, for an optimal usage of the wafer W, the chips in an outer peripheral portion of the wafer W are disposed in a stepped pattern. And the inventors of the present invention directed their attention to reduce the frequency of the contact between the probe card and the chips through research on the layout of the channels of the probe card.
The tester carrying out the inspection of the chips 40 via the channels necessitates matching of respective channels in the probe card with those in the tester. Each channel in the tester is assigned a number and the tester acquires data in a numerical order. The acquired data are written in a memory address corresponding to each number. The tester sequentially transmits measuring signals to the chips via the channels of the probe card and receives response signals from the chips via the channels of the probe card.
For such transmission-reception process, it is necessary to specify the connection relationship between the plurality of the channels of the tester and those of the probe card. For without such specification, the probe device cannot utilize the inspection result received from the tester.
In a conventional probe device, an inspection program is designed according to the type of probe card and, whenever the layout of the channels is modified by an exchange of the probe card, the inspection program needs to be replaced as well. In a standardized method for arranging channel identification (“ID”) numbers (numbers assigned to respective channels of the probe card), the identification numbers are sequentially assigned to the respective channels from one end thereof. However, such standardized arrangement of the identification numbers of the channels necessitates the sequence of using signal paths at the tester to be matched with the channel identification numbers of the probe card. In case the channel identification numbers are not assigned in the standardized manner, the inspection program needs to be replaced.
Accordingly, the conventional method requires additional work in modifying the inspection program and causes inconvenience during the inspection, whenever the layout of the channels of the probe card or the arrangement of the identification numbers thereof is altered.
The present invention has been made in view of the above. An object of the present invention is to provide a probe device capable of accommodating a modification in a of channels of a probe card or an arrangement of identification numbers thereof. Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a program and a device for creating channel information of the probe card capable of enabling the probe device to easily accommodate a modification in the layout of channels of the probe card or the arrangement of the identification numbers thereof.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be described in the following description, part of which will become apparent from the disclosure in the description thereof or from implementing the present invention. The objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by arrangements indicated herein and combination thereof.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a probe device for inspecting electrical characteristics objects to be inspected by a tester electrically connected to a number of probes of a probe card while the probes are simultaneously in contact with electrode pads of the objects formed on a substrate to be inspected. The probe device includes: a mounting table on which the substrate is mounted; a controller for controlling an operation of the probe device; a supporting member for supporting the probe card containing a plurality of channels, wherein each of the channels has a group of probes which are brought into contact with plural electrode pads of one of the objects; a channel information creation unit for creating channel information including a layout of a group of the plurality of channels and an identification number of each of the channels and transmitting the created channel information to the controller; a channel information memory unit for storing the channel information received from the channel information creation unit; and an object layout memory unit for storing layout information of the objects formed on the substrate, wherein the controller performs an inspection of the substrate at least based on the channel information stored in the channel information memory unit and the layout information of the objects stored in the object layout memory unit.
Preferably, the probe device provided in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention includes one or an appropriate combination of some of the following (a) to (n).                (a) The substrate is a semiconductor wafer and the objects are integrated circuit chips;        (b) Data on channel layout information in the channel information contains one of data in which relative coordinates where each of the channels is located are matched with the identification number thereof and data in which the relative coordinates where each of the channels is located are arranged in a numerical order of identification numbers;        (c) The controller includes at least one of:        a first program, common to plural kinds of probe cards, for controlling a position of the mounting table in order to bring the probes of the probe card into contact with electrode pads of IC chips, based on channel layout information stored in the channel information memory unit and the layout information of the IC chips stored in the object layout memory unit; and        a third program, common to the plural kinds of probe cards, for transmitting to the tester the channel information stored in the channel information memory unit;        (d) A display unit for displaying an image of an arrangement of the IC chips on the substrate to be inspected;        (e) The controller further includes a second program, common to plural kinds of probe cards, for displaying inspection results of the respective IC chips received from the tester over the image of the arrangement of the IC chips displayed on the display unit, based on the channel information stored in the channel information memory unit;        (f) A first imaging unit, movable in X, Y and Z directions, for photographing the tip of a probe;        (g) The controller further includes one of a fourth program for photographing the tip of the probe by the first imaging unit based on channel layout information stored in the channel information memory unit and a fifth program for photographing the tip of the probe by the first imaging unit based on the channel layout information stored in the channel information memory unit, and determining a state of the photographed tip of the probe;        (h) A second imaging unit for photographing contact traces of the probes on the electrode pads of the IC chips is included in the probe device; and the controller further includes one of a sixth program for controlling the position of at least one of the second imaging unit and the mounting table to photograph at least one of the contact traces by the second imaging unit based on the channel information stored in the channel information memory unit and a seventh program for determining whether said at least one of the contact traces is appropriate, in addition to photographing said at least one of the contact traces;        (i) A grinding member is further prepared on the mounting table; and        the controller further includes an eighth program for controlling a position of at least one of the mounting table and the probe card to grind by the grinding member the probes of the probe card, based on the channel layout information stored in the channel information memory unit;        (j) The channel information creation unit is a computer disposed outside of the probe device;        (k) The channel information creation unit includes a unit for inputting the channel information by selecting the image displayed on a display unit;        (l) The channel information creation unit includes a display unit for displaying a set of channels in a matrix form; and a unit for designating channels corresponding to the layout of the channels in the probe card in use among the channels displayed on the display unit;        (m) The channel information creation unit includes a display unit for displaying the layout of the channels of the probe card in use; and a unit for inputting the identification number of each of the channels in the layout of the channels displayed on the display unit; and        (n) The channel information creation unit includes at least one of a unit for automatically assigning the identification number to each of the channels; and a unit for arbitrarily assigning the identification number to each of the channels.        
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a ninth program used when a plurality of IC chips formed on a substrate to be inspected are inspected by a probe card, wherein the probe card has a multiplicity of channels and each of the channels has a number of probes which are brought into contact with a number of electrode pads of each of the IC chips. The ninth program includes:                a first function of displaying a number of channel areas in a matrix form on a screen of a display unit;        a second function of designating channel areas corresponding to a layout of the channels in the probe card among channel areas displayed in the matrix form;        a third function of displaying the designated channel areas on the display unit;        a fourth function of assigning identification number to a channel corresponding to each designated channel area; and        a fifth function of creation channel information which is a combination of channel layout information and an identification number of each channel.        
It is preferable that the program provided in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention includes one or an appropriate combination of some of the following (o) to (t):                (o) The first function includes a unit for displaying on the display unit a plurality of channel areas arranged in an n×m matrix form is used, wherein n and m are the maximum numbers of the channel areas arranged in one probe card horizontally and vertically, respectively;        (p) The second function includes a function of designating a number of channel areas corresponding to the channel layout of the probe card by using a pointing device, among the plurality of channel areas displayed in a matrix form on the display unit;        (q) The fourth function includes at least one of functions of automatically and arbitrarily assigning identification numbers to channel areas sequentially designated among the channel areas displayed on the screen of the display unit;        (r) The first function has a function of displaying on the screen of the display unit channel areas with assigned identification numbers and channel areas without assigned identification numbers, differently;        (s) The channel information includes one of data in which the relative coordinates where each channel is located are matched with the identification number thereof; and data in which the relative coordinates of each channel are arranged in a numerical order of the identification numbers; and        (t) A seventh function of selecting an automatic setting mode or an arbitrary setting mode for assigning identification numbers to channels corresponding to the designated channel areas, respectively, wherein in the automatic setting mode, the identification numbers are automatically assigned based on a designation of a channel to be assigned a preset first identification number and a direction of sequentially assigning the identification numbers from that channel, while in the arbitrary setting mode, the identification numbers are arbitrarily assigned to the respective channels corresponding to the channel areas displayed on the screen of the display unit.        
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for creating channel information to be used in inspecting electrical characteristics of a plurality of integrated circuits formed on an object to be inspected by using a probe card having a number of channels, wherein each of the channels has probes corresponding to a single integrated circuit and the channel information includes information on each channel. The device for creating the channel information includes: a display unit; a unit for displaying in a matrix form channel areas representing positions of the channels on the display unit; a designating unit for designating channel areas corresponding to a layout of the channels of the probe card, among the channel areas displayed in the matrix form; an input unit for inputting the identification number to a channel corresponding to each of the designated channel areas; and a unit for creating and storing the channel information, based on layout information of designated channels and identification numbers thereof, the channel information being generated by matching the layout information of channels with the channel identification numbers thereof.
Preferably, the device provided in accordance with the third aspect of the present invention includes one or an appropriate combination of some of the following (u) and (v):                (u) The designating unit for designating the channel areas corresponding to the layout of the channels of the probe card is a pointing device; and        (v) The input unit for inputting identification numbers includes at least one of input units capable of arbitrarily and automatically assigning the identification numbers to the respective channel areas displayed on the display unit.        